Técnicas Reunidas contributes to the SERVET project to recover strategic raw materials

• The project investigates advanced technologies to recover copper, silicon, tantalum, niobium, silver, and tin from postconsumer and complex industrial waste.
• SERVET is funded by the Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI) and the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities under the 2025 Missions Science and Innovation programme

The SERVET project (Research into new circulareconomy processes in the service of strategic sovereignty) aims to address one of the most pressing strategic challenges for the European Union (EU) and, more particularly, Spain: ensuring safe and sustainable access to fundamental and strategic raw materials (CRMs) through the valorization of postconsumer waste and complex industrial streams that currently lack efficient recovery pathways. 

The project will design a new, efficient, sustainable, and technologically advanced circular value chain, based on the selective recovery of strategic materials present in waste such as photovoltaic and hybrid solar panels, printed circuit boards (PCBs), endoflife vehicle (ELV) fluff, steelmaking byproducts, and other complex solid industrial residues. 

SERVET focuses particularly on recovering copper (Cu), silicon (Si), tantalum (Ta), and niobium (Nb), essential for the energy transition, digitalization, automotive manufacturing, and the electronics industry. 

Additionally, the project will investigate the recovery of silver (Ag) and tin (Sn)—highvalue industrial metals—in order to maximize economic feasibility and overall process efficiency, contributing to strategic sovereignty in alignment with Mission 5 of the Missions call. 

To achieve its goals, SERVET integrates disruptive technologies for advanced and sustainable recovery under a systemic, interdisciplinary approach that combines: advanced pretreatments, conditioning and intelligent sorting of postconsumer waste, selective hydrometallurgical technologies for extracting CRMs from complex residual matrices, pyrometallurgical processes to recover fundamental raw materials from secondary fractions and realtime analysis systems using advanced optical technologies (RGB, HSI, LIBS, NIR, Raman) enhanced with artificialintelligence algorithms.

These technologies will enable the reintroduction of recovered materials into new highvalue applications, such as hybrid solar panels or functional conductive inks, thereby closing the loop of a fully circular value chain. 

The SERVET consortium is led by FRAGNOR (TRADEBE), coordinating the work of five additional companies: Técnicas Reunidas, Atlantic Copper, Abora Energy, LENZ Instruments. and INM (Ingeniería Navarra Mecánica), along with four leading technological research centers (GAIKER, EURECAT, LUREDERRA, and CENIMCSIC), which will provide advanced scientific capabilities in analysis, characterization, and pilot validation.

The project has a duration of four years and a total budget of €6,013,229, with Técnicas Reunidas contributing €1,587,069 to develop hydrometallurgical processes that enable the recovery of Ag, Si, and Cu from combined streams of silicon powder—derived from recycled solar panels—and PCB powder. 

SERVET will generate a significant impact across industrial and regional ecosystems by valorizing complex waste, preventing its accumulation, and reducing environmental risks. At the same time, it will increase the efficient recovery of critical raw materials, reducing import dependence. All efforts align with some of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN —innovation, sustainable industry, climate action, and quality employment—and support reindustrialization and skilled job creation in areas with lower industrial density. 

With its comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach, SERVET will help reinforce the strategic autonomy of Spain and the EU as a whole in critical sectors, fostering a more resilient, equitable, and sustainable economy.

Subvencionado por el CDTI N° expediente: MIG-20251132